Creaking Scythe
by The Silver titan
Summary: Following the disappearance of their leader and friend Ruby, the remaining members of team RWBY begin their search for clues once again during their second year. Little do they know, they stumbled into more than just their friend, as they and their friends must piece together the mystery before it's too late. Established ladybug and freezerburn
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY**

 **AN/ I'm back with a new story for you all! A little special something for Halloween, I decided to try my hand at some horror! So tell me how you think I did and I'll continue writing this. Some backstory, this will have established ladybug and freezerburn, although Ruby will not be actually featured in this story for a time, if you want to see why, read on!**

It was that time of year again. The time of year that we all dreaded. My name is Blake Belladonna, and I am one of the three remaining members of team RWBY. There is my partner Yang Xiao Long, and our current team leader Weiss Schnee. It was our second year as students at Beacon academy. The teams normally had four members, but during the later months of the last school year, our old leader went missing after a mission.

"Blake, come on, we're going to be late." Yang called to me from down the hall of our dorm. Our leaders name was Ruby Rose. She was Yang's sister, Weiss's partner, and my girlfriend. Yang had Weiss, and I had Ruby. But the damned White Fang had to take her from me. The only thing we found of her were small shreds of her red cloak. We had all taken to wearing the shreds as a way of remembering her.

"There you are. You almost missed the bullhead." Weiss complained as Blake sat down across from the couple.

"Come on Blake, cheer up. I feel like we're going to find something this time, I know it." Yang said with her usual enthusiasm, though it was clearly forced. She was the closest to Ruby, and her disappearance had hit Yang the hardest. She wouldn't leave her bed and barely ate anything, and her strength barely held up. Weiss had simply gone back to being her old self, blocking out everyone and being, for lack of a better term, a bitch.

"I'm going to sleep. Wake me up when we get there please." Blake asked, receiving a nod from her two teammates.

Slipping into sleep quickly, Blake's dreams would torment her.

 _The warehouse was burning. Dust canisters exploding. Roman had not been an easy fight. The White Fang were still wrapped around his finger, and using the latest weapons, had put up a fight far greater than the team of four were expecting._

 _"Help me! Can anyone hear me?!" A worker called from some corner of the warehouse. Ruby turned around quickly, her drive to save the citizens of the kingdoms propelling her towards her target. As Ruby appeared next to the worker, part of the roof collapsed, but what caught Ruby off guard was the fact that the person she was now stuck with was actually a White Fang soldier. Before Ruby could react, a knife was embedded into her side._

 _"Ruby!" Blake cried out, watching the entire scene unfold. Before Blake could even attempt to save her girlfriend, more of the roof caved in, blocking any of their advances. As Blake was about to try to find Ruby, members of the Vale police force pulled out the three teens, albeit with a fight._

 _"Someone is still in there! You have to let us back in there!" Yang was screaming, tears running down her face._

 _"I'm sorry, but that building isn't stable anymore, we can't allow anyone in there." The officer said calmly despite a raging blonde trying to get past him. To further his point, the warehouse began to creak and groan, before completely falling in on itself._

Blake woke up with a start, the memory of that night still lingering in her mind. Looking around quickly, Blake noticed that Weiss and Yang were currently watching something on the heiress's scroll, a news report from the sound of it. Neither one seemed to notice her wake up, allowing Blake the chance to read from her scroll.

Thirty minutes later, the bullhead touched down in front of the ruins of the old warehouse. It was Weiss's idea to return twice a year to look for anything that might shed some light on their leaders disappearance. For as much as Weiss wanted to be the leader, she now loathed the responsibility. Ozpin had asked her if she would be willing to take up the empty position, and Weiss had reluctantly agreed. The way he had asked though sounded as if he had already given up on Ruby.

"Alright, everyone remember what they're doing?" Weiss asked, not waiting for any kind of response. For being the heiress to the largest company in all of Remnant, when it came to her team, Weiss was more than willing to get her hands dirty. While Yang had her strength and Blake had her amazing eyesight, Weiss used her glyphs to move large amounts of debris out of the way.

Blake split from her two teammates, deciding to look in another corner of the warehouse. Every time they returned to scavenge the area, Weiss and Yang always looked in the same area, refusing to believe that any evidence would be any further than ten feet from where Ruby was last seen. Blake however always searched the outskirts of the rubble, usually leading her to find an unused bullet, colored Ruby's trademark silver. What Blake also noticed was that they seemed to be in some kind of pattern.

"Alright, lets see what we can find this time." Blake said to herself. She realized she should have shared her find with her team, but for whatever reason felt the need to wait to tell them. Having found ten bullets, Blake knew the trail was close to ending.

'Ruby always carried the five on her belt, and was down to her last magazine. That means only two more to go.' Blake thought to herself as she found the place where she had left off. The pattern always lead from bullet to bullet. It was just a matter of following the point of one bullet to the next round.

Blake found the next one easily enough, set in the hole of a roof tile formed from a metal beam underneath it. Following its point, Blake noticed she was moving closer and closer towards Yang and Weiss. When she was close to thirty yards away from the other members of her team though, Blake noticed something odd. The last bullet was heavily rusted, and was balanced on its tip.

"Yang! Weiss! Come here, I found something!" Blake yelled, catching the attention of the two. Racing over on Weiss's glyphs, they quickly covered the ground between them.

"What is it Blake?" Yang asked, ever so slightly out of breath.

"First off, let me explain something. Since we began searching, I've found a pattern. The last of Ruby's bullets were arranged in a hidden path of sorts, and I've finally found the end of it, right here." Blake said, gesturing towards the rusted bullet.

Then lets not waste any more time!" Weiss shouted as she readied a large glyph five feet across underneath the rubble. Quickly getting out of the way, Yang and Blake watched in awe as Weiss moved the twisted steel and concrete away from the rest of the rubble.

"Alright Weiss, set it down so we can sift through it!" Yang shouted over the groaning steel. Setting it down gently, Weiss joined Blake in searching through the lighter material as Yang lifted the heavier material from the pile.

Searching for twenty minutes, Weiss had finally found something with some real value.

"Hey, look over here. It's a scroll." Weiss called out, holding the beaten up scroll in her hands. The first feature they noticed was its cracked screen. The second thing they found was a well done engraving on the back of two flowers, one, a rose. The other, a belladonna lily. Blake instantly put two and two together. It was Ruby's scroll.

"Hand it here, let me see if the password is still the same." Blake asked, holding out her arms. Weiss quickly handed it off to Blake, who in turn powered it up. Greeted by a lock screen distorted by the cracks, Blake typed in Ruby's old password. The scroll unlocked, and their was a notification ready for them. Opening it, they were greeted with a view of the destroyed warehouse, the only noise being the light wind. Suddenly an ear piercing shriek blasted from the phone.

"What the hell was that?!" Yang shouted as the video stopped.

"I don't know, but we should probably show this to Ozpin." Weiss suggested as she scooped up the scroll and set it into one of her pouches. As the team raced back to the bullhead, a lone figure, sitting in a tree, began its long journey towards its beacon.

 **AN/ And here is my horror story! It's not scary yet, but it will be soon. So tell me what you think of it so far, I really want to write a good horror fic for you guys, and this idea popped up a couple days ago. Until next time, have a great day!**


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY

 **AN/ Hello once again to 'Creaking Scythe' and I want to thank all of you for reading. If you haven't already, check out my main story, 'Lighting a Dark World.' A quick note, this story will be fairly short, I'm going to guess around eight or so chapters, but I do plan some kind of gory character death, not sure who it will be yet, and I'm open to suggestions. Anyways, onto the second chapter!**

Arriving at Beacon, the remaining members of team RWBY were greeted by the friends from team JNPR.

"Hey guys,find anything?" Jaune asked. In his time at Beacon and under Pyrrha's tutelage, Jaune had grown as both a fighter and a leader. Under his leadership, team JNPR had become the second best team in their class, only barely being beaten out by their own team RWBY.

"Actually, we did, but we have no idea what it means." Yang said as she handed Jaune the scroll they found.

"Ruby's scroll? Wouldn't it be on her, instead of buried in the rubble of a building?" Ren asked, confused about the find.

"Thats not even the strange part, give it here for a second." Blake asked, arm outstretched. Unlocking the screen and pulling up the video. The scream caused their friends to flinch, jump in the case of the blond swordsman.

"That is confusing, have you told Ozpin yet?" Pyrrha asked. Blake only shook her head.

"Not yet. We tried but his line was busy. We were going to try after we got some food." Weiss explained. To further the point, Yang's stomach growled loudly.

 _ ***In the Emerald forest***_

The lone figure had been walking non-stop, it's steps slow and forced. Behind it, a faded red object covered in dirt and moss, leaving the faintest of trails, dragged along. It possessed an extremely thin figure, covered by the tattered and torn red cloak. It's slow, creaking steps came to a halt. In front of the figure, stood a small pack of grimm. As it's lower jaw fell open, releasing the most agonizing shriek. The grimm quickly scattered from the aura-less figure. The path clear, the figure began the long ascent to the top of the rock wall.

 _ ***In the cafeteria***_

Blake's ears twitched as a faint noise brushed over them. Even with her bow on, Her hearing was hardly impaired. Looking up, she could see Velvet having a similar reaction.

"You alright there Blake?" Yang asked, concerned for why her partner suddenly spaced out.

"Sorry Yang, I thought I heard something." Blake replied, although partially lied. Blake knew that she heard something, but couldn't place what it was. Returning to her tuna sandwich and the conversation, Blake brushed it off for until later.

"So what do you think will happen now?" Jaune asked.

"I think that on the optimistic side, we find Ruby alive and bring her back." Yang replied, but bit her words back before she could say anything else. The one thing the group of friends had unanimously agreed on was that Ruby wasn't dead. People would tell them to just give up, that it was a lost cause. But they refused anything could happen to the prodigy of Beacon.

"Well, we're with you if and when it comes time to find her." Jaune assured, the rest of his team nodding in agreement.

"I must admit, despite the fact your leader was last seen with a stab wound in her side while in a collapsing building, she must of survived." Glynda added in her usual stern, and sometimes cold, tone.

"Oh, miss Goodwitch. We were about to start looking for you. We found something, but its a little confusing. Is the headmaster free right now?" Weiss asked.

"I'm sorry to say, but no he is not. He is still trying to talk things over with the council from last year. I think he should be free later tonight." Glynda explained.

"Oh. Well, thank you. We'll be sure to stop by later then." Weiss replied, dejected.

"Come on, let's go find something to do. Sparring anyone?" Yang said, giving a thumbs up and sporting a wide grin.

"Oh, oh! I wanna spar!" Nora sprang up, accepting her challenge.

"Well, looks like damage control is on all of us now." Blake said, cursing her partner's natural instinct to fight things.

Hours later, after exhausting themselves with sparring or other activities in the sparring hall, courtesy of Yang's hidden control over Weiss with her smooth words. Team RWBY was making their way to the top of the headmasters office.

"So, any guesses as to what Ozpin will say?" Yang asked, minor anger against Ozpin building up.

"Yang, I agree that Ozpin shouldn't have forsaken Ruby so easily, but you need to cool down, or we won't get anywhere." Weiss said in an authoritative voice. She hated yelling at her team, especially at Yang.

"I know Weiss, but it still makes me mad that he would so readily turn on Ruby." Yang explained, calming down slowly. The elevator dinged, letting them know that they had reached the top floor. Stepping out, they were greeted with miss Goodwitch doing something on her scroll and Ozpin readying more coffee for all of them.

"Ah, miss Schnee. I'm sorry about earlier, but other matters had taken my time. You had something for me to see?" Ozpin asked, setting down a tray of coffee and gesturing to the open seats.

"Yes. We found the first real piece of evidence we could possibly use to find Ruby." Weiss explained, doing her best to hide her smug face and tone.

"Did you now? Let me see what you've found." Ozpin asked as Blake placed Ruby's scroll in his hand.

"A scroll? Was this it?" OZpin asked, expecting more.

"That was Ruby's scroll. I found it after following a trail of her own bullets. The one thing out of place was a video." Blake explained, suppressing a growl. Before anyone could ask, Ozpin had unlocked the scroll and found the video.

"Is this all?" Ozpin asked, and before anyone could say otherwise, the screech filled the room, causing Ozpin to drop the scroll.

"What was that?!" Glynda asked, picking up her scroll.

"We don't know, we were hoping one of you two could tell us." Yang replied.

"I'm sorry, but whatever this is, it's beyond my knowledge. Allow me to look into this and-" Before Ozpin could finish, the lights cut out. Five seconds later, the emergency lighting kicked in, bathing the room in a low red glow.

"Glynda, try to get maintenance on this, see what cut the lights. You three, return to your dorms, tell anyone else you see to do the same. From this moment on, Beacon is under lockdown." Ozpin ordered as he and Glynda set about what had happened.

Taking the long stairs, team RWBY hurried back to their room. Blake however stopped when she saw someone standing underneath one of the courtyard trees.

"Hey! Go back to your room, Beacon is under lockdown!" Blake yelled. The figure didn't make any notion of responding.

"Blake, is that, Ruby's cloak?" Yang asked, noticing the shredded red cloth. Before anyone could move, the figure disappeared.

 **AN/ Who is the mysterious figure, a ghost of Ruby? Only I know, and you'll have to wait and see what happens next time! Remember to leave me suggestions for any character deaths, I will do anyone as long as they aren't too important to the story. Until next time, have a great time!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY**

 **AN/ Hello once again! Quick note, I will be rapid firing chapters this week to finish this up, so keep an eye out for the rest of the chapters! To answer some reviews, no, I did not turn Ruby into a banshee, I only took some inspiration because honestly, I'm just lazy and it doesn't tie into the plot of the story. Also, Ruby's weapon is accounted for, when the figure was walking through the Emerald forest, it was dragging it along in its compact form, and it is very beaten up. Lastly, I cannot kill Jaune, so please try someone else, maybe a professor or someone from team CRDL, I'll take the one with the highest votes, and in the case of a tie, I'll just do both. Anyways, away from my my rant and onto the chapter!**

The hooded figure disappeared, leaving decayed rose petals in its place. Before anyone could react, rusted metal scraped together as the hooded figure slowly raised its arm, the form of Crescent Rose taking it's compact rifle form in hand. The bolt protested as it was worked, chambering an old round.

"Scatter!" Weiss shouted as her and Yang ducked behind concrete pillars. Blake, using her semblance, leapt off of her shadow clone and onto a large tree branch. The figure shot, hitting Blake's clone and disintegrating it. Lowering it's arm, the mystery person opened it's eyes, revealing two eyes, glowing a dead silver color. The entire, time, Blake was recording with her scroll.

Suddenly, the figures mouth dropped open, and released an ear splitting shriek, nearly causing Blake to drop her scroll. Turning, the hooded figure began a slow walk towards the dorm rooms. Yang quickly took the opportunity to extend her Ember Celica and fired a shot at the figures back. Clearly stumbling, that was the only effect Yang had, as the figure turned its head, and stared intently at the blonde brawler.

Disappearing once again, Yang barely dodged a wide swing from Crescent Rose in it's full glory. Weiss quickly joined the fray, throwing a glyph in front of Yang and blocking a downward strike from the decrepid scythe. Blake took the few seconds she had to study the figure and the scythe.

Taking in the scythe first, Blake noticed the amount of rust and damage to it, most likely caused by the collapse of the building. Another thing Blake noticed was how despite having a stiff and rigid slow walk, in combat, the figure moved quickly, and that the hood never once came close to falling.

Weiss barely parried the blade to her left as Yang vaulted over her and let her shotguns blast the defenseless figure. The smoke quickly cleared and revealed more rose petals. Blake had been trying to keep tabs on the mysterious fighter, but lost it, even with her superior senses. Hopping down from the tree, Blake quickly checked on her teammates.

"Weiss, Yang, are you two alright?" Blake asked, worried.

"We're fine. Tell me you got that on camera. We need to show this to Ozpin as soon as we can." Yang asked, slightly out of breath. Blake nodded.

"Well, look at the bright side. At least we know who is responsible for the power outage." Weiss said, trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah, but did you guys notice how similar to Ruby they are? They even have her cloak and Crescent Rose, even her semblance! I mean look, even the affects are the similar." Blake explained as she lifted a rose petal.

"You're right, I noticed that as well. But I thought Crescent Rose was destroyed in the fire?" Weiss asked, confused.

"Apparently not. Someone is trying to parade around as my sister, and I don't like it. I mean, did you see how many blasts they took? If it was Ruby, she would've been unconscious after the second shot." Yang added. This confused them even more, as not many people were able to take multiple shots from her and still be standing, let alone fighting.

"Yang, you and I will find team JNPR and tell them whats going on, we're going to need their help. Blake, you try to get back to Ozpin and show him what you found. The sooner we get the professors in on this, the better." Weiss ordered. The black and yellow partners nodded and split, going their separate ways.

Blake ran as fast as she could, hoping to avoid the Ruby look alike. Reaching the steps to the tower, Blake cursed the headmasters idea to have his office so high up. Beginning her long run, Blake darted up the stairs.

"Weiss, what is your plan for this? Because whoever that is, they're tough." Yang asked as her and the white themed heiress ran through the halls trying to find their friends.

"I'm thinking we just concentrate a lot of firepower on them. There is no way they could handle that much gunfire." Weiss explained, her plan too simple, even for her.

"Wait, Isn't Nora away with Coco at that heavy weapons safety thing?" Yang asked, bringing the whole idea to a complete halt.

"Dust damnit you're right. We'll figure something out, but now is not the time." Weiss yelled as she rounded another corner. The duo had searched the entirety of the main building, leaving only the lecture halls, the dining hall and the dorms. The two quickly singled out the dorms as the mysterious person was last trying to go there, so they turned towards the dining hall, hoping their friends decided on a late night snack.

Bursting through the doors, the sight they were greeted with was indeed a good one. The tables and chairs were stacked into a more viable looking fortress than the one from their food fight last year.

"Jaune! Pyrrha! Ren! Are you guys in here?!" Yang yelled, hoping that they didn't waste their time.

"Yang, is that you?" Jaune called back, his head sticking out from a table. Pyrrha and Ren both appeared next to their leader.

"Don't you guys know that there is a lockdown going on right now?" Ren asked, confused as to why his friends were running around instead of fortifying themselves.

"Yeah we know. We actually found the reason for the lockdown as well, and we want to kill it." Yang said as she cracked her fists.

"Or apprehend them." Weiss shot back, shaking her head at her girlfriends violent attitude.

"What do you mean? Someone actually broke into the school?" Jaune asked, confused as to why someone would actually attempt to attack Beacon.

"Yeah, and they're parading around with Ruby's scythe and cloak as well." Yang growled, eyes slowly turning a shade of red.

"Ruby? Are you sure?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yeah, though none of her gear is in decent shape. It's clearly not her as well, whoever it is managed to take multiple shots from Yang and keep fighting. We need to do something, and I had a plan, but without Nora, It won't work." Weiss explained.

"Wow, this is just too much to take in. Look, I think we need to find some more people to help. Until then, I say we just wait here. Where is Blake, by the way?" Jaune asked as he showed the way into the makeshift barrier.

"She is showing Ozpin some footage we got from our fight. It's something to be frightened about." Weiss explained, shuddering at the thought of those glowing silver eyes.

 **AN/ And I'm going to cut it here, so that way you guys can have until Thursday around three o' clock to give me a kill list, so to speak, of characters. Also, I love volume three, and I'm honestly really impressed by Neath Oum and his voice acting for Ren, yes Monty was the original, but I honestly think that Neath is a little better suited for the role. Don't take it as hate though for what Monty did though, it's not at all what I meant. Until next time though, have a great day!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY**

 **AN/ Hello to all of my readers, here is another chapter to 'Creaking Scythe.' I had the recommendation to slaughter the entirety of team CRDL, so be ready to see some gruesome gore this chapter. I'm also excited for you all to read this chapter, because some more clues will be dropped, so I want you all to guess in this and the upcoming chapters what you think the whole backstory is based on what you know. Anyways, onto the chapter!**

 **Fair warning, there is gore, if you don't like that, then don't read.**

Blake had managed to run the entirety of the stairs leading to Ozpin's office. Out of breath, Blake waited outside the doors and thought back on what she had seen.

'Who or whatever that is must be trying to send some kind of message. I can't think of any other reason someone would dress like that and attack Beacon.' Blake mused to herself. The more she thought though, the more confused she became.

'Argh. Why is this so confusing? Whatever, I just have to show this to Ozpin.' Blake quickly knocked on the door, and was greeted by Glynda, who was standing in the now open doorway with her riding crop pointed at her.

"Miss Belladonna, what are you doing here? And where is your team?" Glynda asked, dropping her stance the moment she recognized Blake.

"We found part of the cause of the power outage, and it's not friendly." Blake explained, making her way into the office. The red emergency lights contrasting with the green in the room served to give the room a slightly eerie feeling.

"Did you now? Show me what you found." Ozpin said, standing from his seat. Blake pulled her scroll out and opened the video of the fight. Ozpin and Glynda were both worried about what they were seeing.

"Is that miss Rose?" Ozpin asked, not quite believing what he was seeing.

"No, it's not. Do you see how the person took that beating from Yang? Ruby would never survive something like that. That is someone else entirely." Blake explained.

"This is very troubling. I will get ahold of the professors and we will apprehend this individual before anyone is seriously harmed." Ozpin said as he began devising a plan. Suddenly, his scroll chimed, and displayed an urgent notice, signifying an emergency.

"Professor Ozpin, are you there?" It was Russel, and he sounded out of breath.

"What's the emergency?" Ozpin asked quickly.

"There, there's something in the dorms. It-it's fighting my team right now, but it's too tough, we need some help!" Russel was all but begging. Turning the camera towards the action, Blake recognized the red hood and scythe in the background, currently attempting to maul Dove. Cardin came in with a wide swing, clipping the figure across the face, knocking off what could have been assumed to be some form of mouthguard, yet still the hood remained over the figures head, leaving the face a distorted mass of black. Silver eyes opened once more, and the figure disappeared.

"Please hurry!" Russel yelled into his scroll before it was instantly disconnected.

"This is bad, we have to go and help them!" Blake yelled, running for the stairs.

"Miss Belladonna, wait!" Glynda tried to stop the raven haired student, only to be ignored and forced to follow the student. Blake ran across campus, barely noticing the clicking of heels behind her. Blake knew that for being such assholes to everyone, Cardin and his team didn't deserve to die.

Bursting through the door, Blake began running up the flights of stairs, trying to find the floor team CRDL was on. What unnerved Blake however, was the silence. There were no shouts, no grinding metal or gunshots, just the sound of her feet hitting the steps. Rounding the corner to the last flight of stairs, Blake looked into the hallway, and a wave of nausea hit her like a tidal wave.

There, in the middle of the hallway, was team CRDL, laid out in various grotesque positions. Russel was pinned to the wall, his daggers in his shoulders, and a large gash torn into the front of his throat, staining his shirt a dark crimson. Sky was laid out on the floor, a line sliced from his waist to his neck with his halberd jammed into his side. Dove had his sword simply sticking straight out of his stomach, but upon closer inspection Blake could see the wounds from its pistol.

The most sickening thing however, was Cardin. Lying face down in a pool of his own blood, his mace jammed into the back of his head. However, it was easy to determine something else had happened to him. Blake, on shaky feet, followed a line of blood, stemming from his corpse to around the corner. The scene that greeted Blake's eyes caused her to throw up her dinner. Entrails and other organs were splattered against the wall, blood sprayed from the impact.

"Oh dust." Was all Blake heard, as Miss Goodwitch finally caught up to her. Taking in the scene for herself, Glynda was sickened. These were just barely adults, and they had been slaughtered like grimm. Blake turned back to the main hallway, using the wall for support on her weak legs.

"Ca-cardin got the worst of it. Unless you want to puke, don't look back there." Blake said, choking on the taste of her vomit.

"What do you mean?" Miss Goodwitch asked.

"Thats not all of him, the rest is around that corner. He was gutted." Blake explained, shivering at the gruesome image forever burned into her mind. Glynda defeated, failing to do her job of protecting the students. Taking a picture to show Ozpin what had happened, Glynda silently turned around and left for Ozpins office.

Blake however stayed. She wanted to find something before she left. Searching the hall, Blake quickly found what she was looking for. Her initial guess was partially correct, as something was indeed knocked off of the person, but its what it was that had her intrigued. In her hand was what looked like a humans lower jaw. What was odd though, was that the scent of it didn't match up. It didn't smell like a person, living or dead. Blake couldn't place what it smelled like, but knew it smelled off.

The sound of her scroll pinging with a message brought the cat faunus out of her thoughts. Opening her scroll, Blake looked at the new message.

 _*Yang- Blake, we're in the dining hall with team JNPR, where are you?_

Blake quickly typed her response

 _*Blake- I'm in the dorms right now. Something happened to team CRDL. Whoever is on the campus got to them._

Blake quickly returned to the jaw in her hands. Upon closer inspection, Blake noticed that the skin, while looking real and slightly decayed, felt almost like rubber. Her scroll pinged again

 _*Yang- Are they alright? What happened?_

Blake felt a new wave of nausea wash over her as she typed

 _*Blake- They're dead. It's gruesome. Russel sent an emergency call to Ozpin while I was in the office. Cardin got a good hit on them though. I found something strange about our mystery person though. I'll be there soon._

"Blake stood up as quickly as she could without nauseating herself, and began her trek to the dining hall. Her scroll chimed again, though she elected to ignore it, instead focusing on her surroundings to avoid a possible ambush.

 _ ***With Yang***_

At Blake's last message, Yang was shellshocked.

"Hey, Yang? Are you alright? What happened to Blake?" Weiss was asking the blonde. Yang, snapping out of her stupor, replied quickly.

"Cardin and his team are dead." Was all she could say before collapsing into Weiss's arms. Weiss was stunned. Team CRDL, while not the best team, had recently become much harder to defeat. The fact that this one person did so and ended their lives so gruesomely was terrifying, and Yang was currently freaking out in her head. Breaking everyone from their current thoughts, the doors slammed shut as someone entered the large room.

"Yang, Weiss, are you guys still here?" It was Blake. Jaune quickly popped out of the nearby hole and gestured for her to hurry. Running quickly, Blake found her way into the table structure.

"Are they really dead?" Weiss asked quietly. Blake only nodded.

"Dust damnit. This needs to end now, before anyone else is killed." Jaune growled. Despite having faked his way into Beacon, Jaune was now a worthy contender, placing much higher in the combat rankings of their class.

"Alright, I say we just fight them, head on, ambush, something. The sooner we stop them, the sooner we figure out why they decided to attack us in the first place. Are you guys with me?" Jaune asked the group. Everyone nodded, trusting the blond swordsman's ability to strategize.

"Before we go any further, look what I found." Blake interrupted, showing the false jaw.

"Is that, someone's jaw?" Pyrrha asked, disturbed at the sight.

"Yes and no. It's from our mystery guest. But something I noticed, is that it doesn't seem like it was ever from a live being. The skin is more like rubber than actual skin. Not to mention, the scent doesn't match up either." Blake explained as Yang gently took the object into her hand.

"You're right Blake, this smells like some kind of oil or something." Yang added. The new discoveries continued to confuse the group. Talking amongst themselves, the group of six flinched at the sound of shattering glass. Peaking his head out, Jaune could see a red cloak standing in one of the window frames.

 **AN/ So, how did you all like that chapter? Was the gore too much, not enough, tell me what you think. Another chapter will be out tomorrow, maybe a couple of chapters, we'll see what happens. Until tomorrow, have a great day!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY**

 **AN/ I'm sorry, don't hate me please! I didn't have the time to write and I'm sorry but please forgive me! Anyway, with not much to say, let's kick this chapter off!**

Seeing the hooded intruder, Jaune fell down to the floor, eyes wide.

"Guys, they're here." Jaune gasped, reaching for Crocea Mors.

"Well, at least now we don't have to look for them. Let's go!" Yang yelled as she dashed out of the little fortress. The figure turned to stare at the blonde with it's glowing silver eyes. Before it had the chance to move, Yang began firing, multiple shots connecting with the intruder. Not letting off on her attack, Yang closed the distance quickly, intent on blowing the person apart.

Much to her surprise however, the cloaked figure had a similar idea, swinging Crescent Rose at Yang, catching her in the face and knocking her back. Blake the took this moment to join in the fray, swing Gambol Shroud in alternating strikes between the thin katana and the more devastating cleaver.

Backpedaling, Blake noticed a large glyph appear, significantly slowing down the foe. Weiss took the opportunity to land multiple precise jabs with Myrtenaster, mostly to the joints of the figure.

Disappearing and reappearing quickly, the intruder was further down the dining hall, Crescent Rose in its full decrepid glory, and had begun taking potshots at the group of students. Taking cover from the inaccurate shots behind the many pillars, they were left to plan.

"Pyrrha, how good of a shot are you?" Yang asked, pulling her head further behind the pillar when a bullet tore off part of the stone.

"If you're asking me if I can do damage to them at this range, then yes, I'm a great shot." Pyrrha accentuated her statement by transforming Milo into its rifle form.

"Alright, I have a plan. Jaune, use your shield to protect Pyrrha from any incoming fire. Blake, Ren, you two give us some suppressing fire. Pyrrha, try to land a shot right in the scope. Weiss and I will use the distraction to move up and start wailing on 'em. sound good?" Yang yelled to her spread out friends. Receiving various forms of confirmation, Jaune opened his shield, giving Pyrrha the protection to line up her shot.

Pyrrha pulled the trigger, her and Jaune ducking back behind more solid cover as the bullet zipped down the dining hall towards its target. The sound of shattering glass and twisting metal being the only confirmation Ren and Blake needed, turning around their respective pillars and spitting bullets downrange.

"Weiss, c'mon!" Yang yelled, dashing forward, minding the fire coming from her friends. Weiss followed close behind, using her glyphs to speed ahead of the brawler. Closing in fast, Weiss moved in for a jab at the enemy's arm, hoping to prevent them from using crescent Rose. Her blade sinking into the arm of her opponent, Weiss was surprised that the attack never once elicited a pained response. Before Weiss could react, under the shadow of their hood, the intruder turned its now broken eye to her, it's one good eye as unnerving as ever.

Before anything could be done however, Yang came in with a blind side swing, throwing the figure against the far wall like a rag doll. The sickening crack as the fighter hit made the students flinch, just slightly.

"Think they're done?" Jaune asked, hopelessly optimistic. Before receiving an answer, the intruder appeared behind him, delivering a swift kick to his back. Pyrrha swung Milo, in its shortsword from in a horizontal strike, but was quickly disarmed, earning a punch ot her face for her efforts. Ren and Yang both charged, Yang attempting to uppercut the persistent fighter, while Ren leapt above the brawler, ready to send the figure into the ground.

Disappearing, the figure appeared beside Ren, latching onto his leg. Throwing him down quickly, he landed on an unprepared Yang, causing the two of them to fall to the floor in a tangled heap.

Weiss, hoping to stop the intruders advance, dashed forward, Myrtenaster held in front of her. However, luck was not on her side, as the figure caught the blade, and ripped it from the heiress's hand. Turning her own weapon against her, the intruder swung Myrtenaster by the blade, catching Weiss in the head with the full handle, effectively knocking her out.

Blake was stunned. Her friends having been beaten so simply in front of her, was terrifying. Before Blake could react, a hand grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground. Now suspended in the air, Blake was beginning to struggle. In an attempt to pry the hand off her throat, she resorted to try to, as Yang once so tastefully put it, fight like a cat, and began trying to tear into the hand.

However her efforts seemed to be in vain as her attacker never made any notion of stopping or that they were in any pain. Still struggling, Blake was beginning to lose consciousness, black spots slowly consuming her vision.

Before succumbing to the silence of unconsciousness, Blake barely registered a loud noise, or that she was dropped. Feeling her airways open again, Blake began gasping for breath, coughing as she did so. Looking up, Blake could see the form of the person who nearly took her lie, flying about the air, being tossed into the walls like a broken toy.

Slowly turning around, Blake could barely make out the enraged features of miss Goodwitch, as she tossed the intruder around, leaving large craters in every surface. Finishing by throwing the figure into the ground, Glynda let out a huff.

"That, was for my students." Was all she said as the other professors poured into the room, quickly checking for any serious injuries.

"Miss Belladonna, are you alright?" Ozpin's calm voice asked, as he held his hand out to the downed faunus. Blake weakly nodded, taking his hand as he lifted her up. Blake stumbled slightly, but refused any help, as she made her way towards her partner.

"We got our asses kicked, didn't we?" Yang asked, lightly joking.

"Really Yang? We could have been brutally slaughtered, and yet you're already joking about it?" Weiss asked, annoyed at the blonde.

"You know you love me for it babe." Yang called back, winking at the heiress, who in response pinched the bridge of her nose and shook her head. Despite having taken a blow to the head, Weiss had woken up quickly. Pyrrha and Jaune were both nursing the sore parts of their body, while Ren along with Yang got off comparatively easy.

"I'm just glad it's over now. Maybe we can find something on them that explains why they were here." Blake said hopefully. Sitting around one another, the group of six students were nursing their various aches and bruises. The professors, after ensuring that their students wouldn't have lasting damage, began a closer inspection of the intruder.

"Ren! Ren, are you alright?" Nora came bursting through the doors and sliding in front of the green ninja.

"Yes Nora, I'm fine, just a little sore. Yang is a bit heavier than you would expect." Ren replied jokingly. Nora gently, surprisingly, hugged Ren. Blake could only look on in mild sadness, as she saw her friends comforting their loved ones. Loneliness washed over her in waves, Blake missing her energetic girlfriend.

Suddenly, a loud clang drew everyones attention towards the professors.

"Stand back, it's doing something." Oobleck warned as the professors backed away. Despite having been in the persons face, the darkness still shrouded their face. Suddenly though, a whirring noise filled the dining hall. Before anyone could react, the figures face opened, surprising everyone.

Blake jumped to her feet and ran at the figures body, noticing the same smell that covered the jaw piece. Looking down at the now lit face, Blake was made only more confused.

The intruder, was nothing more than an android.

"It's a robot? But, why?" Blake asked no one in particular. Before anyone could respond, another noise filled the large room, only this time, there was now something being pushed from the face of the robot. A seemingly innocent data chip protruded from a small drive, presenting itself to the group.

 **AN/ And thats a wrap! Sorry once again about my broken promise. Tomorrow will be the beginning of the last three chapters, and then this will be finished. Did anyone at least think of something along the lines of this? Also, this is the end of the spooky stuff, I'm going to end this in a different way, so I hope you'll all enjoy that as well. Anyways, see you all next time!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY**

 **AN/ Hello once again my readers, I'm back! Sorry for my extended leave, work and school and family really takes away from my time to write, but here I am!** ** _Fair warning, torture will be depicted in this chapter, if you don't like or are sensitive to this kind of imagery,_** ** _do not read!_** **You have been warned! Now let's start this chapter, shall we?**

Blake stared at the data chip now in her hand, confused beyond belief.

"This doesn't make any sense. Why would someone do this?" Blake asked no one in particular.

"I have no idea. But due to the nature of how we got that chip, I'm afraid I can't allow it to be played here." Ozpin advised.

"Then what can we do?" Weiss asked, bracing herself on Yang's shoulder as she stood.

"Oobleck, could you go and find an unused scroll? And make sure it isn't connected to any networks." Ozpin ordered the green haired professor.

"We have to take every precaution available. That chip could have nothing but viruses on it, so we cannot allow it to be plugged into anything with access to our databases or networks. By using an unconnected scroll, we can prevent that while we scan it." Ozpin explained. Oobleck quickly returned to Ozpin's side, scroll in hand.

"Thank you, professor. Now then, lets see what we have here." Ozpin said as he plugged the chip into the scroll. Activating a malware scan, Ozpin waited, the tense atmosphere surrounding them all. After a minute, the scroll happily reported no presence of a virus of any kind.

"Now then, since that is taken care of, lets move somewhere that we can see what this has to offer. Port, could you please stay and make sure that, _thing_ , is disposed of." Ozpin more or less demanded, disgusted by the synthetic being that terrorized his students. Port nodded, happy to do away with the android.

"Now then, lets take this to my office, that should provide enough space for us all." Ozpin suggested as he gestured for his students to follow. Quickly helping each other up, teams RWBY and JNPR followed the headmaster to his office.

"So, what do you think is on that chip?" Jaune asked.

"If I had to guess, I would have to say something about Ruby. I mean, think, that android was designed to look like her, somewhat, not to mention, it had her scythe. Speaking of which, do you think it'll be alright in the dining hall?" Yang asked, catching Blake's attention quickly.

"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." Was all Blake said before running back to retrieve the scythe.

"I guess she didn't think so." Yang jabbed, receiving an elbow to her ribs from Weiss.

"Come on Yang, enough with the joking for now, alright?" Weiss asked, growing impatient with the blonde oaf.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop. I'm just trying to lighten the mood, jeez." Yang grumbled. While outside she was joking and her usual self, inside, she was filled with worry. Yang was just as worried as everyone else, maybe even more so. Yang just wanted closure. The whole time, she had been wondering whether Ruby was alive or not, and this only served to add to her worry.

Reaching the top of the tower, Ozpin had everyone settle in. Blake had caught up to them halfway up the tower and was currently looking at the damage done to Crescent Rose while it was in its compact form.

"Alright, lets see what we have here. Glynda, could you please lower the lights?" Ozpin asked as he sat in his chair. Glynda quickly lowered the lights as everyone gathered around the screen, ready to see what was on the chip. Suddenly, the image of a clearly burned Ruby appeared, bound by chains in the center of the room.

"So you're the little runt who has been ruining my operations? You are far less threatening than I would have ever thought." A voice said from behind the camera. Blake instantly recognized him, Adam. Her former mentor and partner walked up to the barely conscious Ruby, taking in her injured form.

"For someone who was able to defeat my men so many times, you really do look pathetic. Tell me, how is Blake right now? Would she be saddened to hear that you are helpless, or would she not even care?" Adam taunted.

"She, she would kill you for this." Ruby growled at the bull faunus.

 _*Slap!*_

"You should really learn respect." Adam growled back as Ruby slumped in her chains, kept upright only because they were bolted to the ceiling.

"Roman was right, you really are so much easier to manage when you don't have your scythe." Adam laughed, bringing Wilt and Blush towards Ruby, and firing, sending the handle of his sword directly into Ruby's face. Before any more damage could be shown, the video changed.

"Adam has her?" Was all Blake could manage to choke out, before crying outright. Yang and Weiss instantly moved to her sides, both on the verge of tears as well.

"There is, more to this video. Would you still like to watch it?" Ozpin asked solemnly. Blake tried to compose herself enough to respond, but failed, descending into incoherent sobs.

"Could we skip to the last five minutes please? I don't think we could handle seeing anymore of this." Weiss barely managed to say, to which Ozpin was more than happy to oblige.

"Oh, it must be Christmas, I never thought I would see another Rose look so helpless in my lifetime." A voice Ozpin was all too familiar with sang in a seductive tone. As Ozpin adopted an angered look, a woman, with long, flowing black hair and dressed in a red dress, walked up to Ruby.

"Oh, how I've always wished you wouldn't end up like your mother, but it seems fate had other plans." Cinder said, a little too happy. Walking slowly around Ruby, who had far more cuts and marks than when Adam had seen her, Cinder's hands began to glow orange.

"Oh my, it looks like Neo had fun with you, as did Roman. You look like hell, let's see if we can improve that." Cinder remarked as she let loose a fire ball, landing in the center of Ruby's back as Ruby let loose a scream of agony.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did Mercury already get you there, or was it Emerald? No matter, more fun for me." Cinder said with a sadistic smile. Ruby screamed the entire time.

Everyone could only watch on in horror as one of the most dangerous people on Remnant continuously struck an innocent sixteen year old with fire. Blake had her eyes clamped shut, trying her hardest to block out the pained screams coming from her girlfriend.

Suddenly though, the sounds of pained screams and fire was replaced with heavy breathing and the clicking of heels. Blake had to force herself to open her eyes to see what was happening now. The sight in front of her angered her, Cinder had covered Ruby's left right eye with her hand while she had put herself in front of Ruby, facing the camera,

"Let this serve as a warning, Opzin. Don't fuck with us, or else, your precious students will take the blow. Just to show you some fair play, here are the coordinates to this little cell. I would hurry though, I don't know how long this Rose will last." Cinder stated fiendishly. Before anything was presented to them however, the hand over Ruby's eye began to glow, before it was scorching hot, causing Ruby to scream in absolute agony.

The camera quickly cut off before the damage could be shown, and instead was now displaying the coordinates Cinder promised. Everyone could only stare in shock though. Jaune passed out while Yang and Blake ran for a trash bin, both quickly puking whatever was left in their stomachs. Everyone else sat like a statue, barely able to comprehend what they had just seen.

The shattering of a glass brought everyone back to attention however.

"That witch, is going to pay with her blood!" Yang screamed as she threw an empty coffee mug against the wall, eyes a deep red and aura spiraling around her.

"Yang, calm down before you burn down the room!" Weiss shouted, latching onto the blondes arm. Yang, registering weight on her arm, looked down to see Weiss, and quickly brought her anger under control.

Tears freely fell from her eyes, as Yang sank to her knees.

"Ozpin, can we go tomorrow? Please, let us go and get her." Blake began to beg from the corner of the room.

"Normally I would have to say no, but under these circumstances, I would have ordered you to come along anyways." Ozpin said, standing up.

"All of you, try and get some rest, tomorrow, we are going and retrieving your friend.

 **AN/ So what do you guys think? Do you really hate me now? Please stay tuned, as there are not many chapters left, maybe about two, so please stay for the end. Until next time, have a nice day.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY**

 **AN/ Holy shit I was gone for far too long, I am so sorry and I would have written sooner if it weren't for a writing assignment for one of my classes and then exams, but holy shit I'm so sorry. Anyways, this will be the final chapter of 'Creaking Scythe' and after 'Lighting a Dark World' ends, I have two more stories coming for you all. So without any further delay, here we go!**

Cold. Lonely. Hungry. Scared. These were all that she felt as she stumbled through the decrepid halls of the bunker, her captors long since leaving her to her own devices. Already she had too many close calls with grimm that had somehow gotten in and failing electronics and fires. Falling to one of her knees, Ruby braced herself the best she could.

'I have to get out of here, but how?' Was all Ruby could think of. Pulling what was left of her cloak around her, Ruby shivered before picking herself back up. 'I'm coming home, one way or another.'

Blake was scared. Ruby was either dead or alive, and she couldn't determine which was worse for her. On the one hand, if she was alive that meant Blake would have her rose back, but Ruby would have been through unimaginable suffering for far longer than they knew. If she was dead, that meant she would have no chance of being happy again, but she would no that Ruby was no longer suffering.

"Hey, I know that look Blake, and I don't like it. I'm worried too, but we can't let it get to us. There are a lot of grimm and we need to be focused" Weiss and Blake's eyes met, further accenting the heiress's point.

"She's right Blake, now is not the time to be brooding, now is the time to find out if my baby sis can still kick ass or not" Yang cracked her knuckles, her statement leaving no arguing.

"Alright you three, are you ready?" Ozpin asked them. Receiving nods, Ozpin turned to the pilot.

"Bring us down, this is the place" The pilot nodded in understanding as he began to lower the bullhead to the ground. Rocking slightly as the aircraft touched down, the pilot killed the engines as they waited for their friends to land as well.

"Alright, watch yourselves. You three will be scouting the bunker alongside JNPR. Miss Goodwitch and I are going to the main control room. Keep in touch, there may be traps and other dangers lurking in the shadows.

"Yes sir" Exiting the bullhead, team RWBY saw their friends stepping out as well.

"Alright, let's get this over with. This place gives me the creeps" Blake shuddered at the thought of Ruby being tortured in this very place.

"Um, guys, the door is wide open and broken" Nora called out to the group.

"What do you mean, miss Valkyrie?" Glynda asked.

"She means just that, the door is gone, ripped out of its place, and it reeks of grimm" Ren explained.

"This complicates things, though we at least know the White Fang is no longer a presence here. Stay vigilant, a king taijitu could easily slide through there" Ozpin warned.

"But Ren killed one on his own though" Nora argued.

"I did, but I was also fighting it in a much more open space Nora, not a bunker" Nora visibly deflated at his statement.

"Doesn't mean you still can't do it" Nora muttered.

"Uh guys? I think they want us to stop talking and follow them in" Jaune pointed towards the door, with Yang glaring at them. With the group now walking together. Drawing their weapons, the group remained on edge, listening for any noise.

"Alright, up here the path splits. Mr. Arc, miss Nikos, you two come with us, miss Schnee, I trust that you can lead the rest of your friends through here?" Ozpin received a nod.

"Then here we will part. Keep in contact and if you happen to find any clues, don't hesitate to tell us. Stay safe" Ozpin turned to the door and stepped through to the command center.

"Alright guys, let's go. Blake, you go with Ren. Yang, Nora, you're with me. Tell us if you find anythi-" Weiss was cut off by a loud clang from down the hall.

"What was that?!" Everyone turned to face down the hall, and were met by glowing red eyes.

"Alright, let's get rid of them before they can do any damage to us" Yang said as she launched herself forward, swinging at the nearest beowolf. Hitting it directly on it's bone mask, the beowolf was sent flying back, landing on another and slamming them both into the wall, killing both.

Ruby heard the howling behind her.

"No, not now, why now?" Ruby tried her hardest to move faster, despite the pain burning through her whole body. Grabbing onto an old shelf for support, Ruby fell over once more, but this time brought the metal shelf down with her and trapping her. Screaming in pain, Ruby tried to move the shelf enough to try and slide out, but she was just wasting her energy.

Ruby could here the howls of the beowolves, though something sounded off, almost as if they were howling not in anger, but in pain.

"Almost done! Ren, behind you!" Blake yelled over the fighting. Turning around, Ren quickly ducked, dodging the grimm before it could take off his head.

"Wait, whats it doing?" Blake asked, confused. Instead of turning to try and finish the fight, it took off down the dark corridors.

"After it, quick!" Weiss cast a series of glyphs, hoping to speed up her and her friends while also slowing down the beowolf.

"Why would a grimm, an alpha no less, run from a fight?" Yang asked.

"Only two reasons. Either they found better prey, or the environment is unstable" Weiss explained, remembering the forest fire during initiation.

"Ozpin, we found a beowolf alpha, its currently running away from us down the corridors" Blake spoke quickly into her scroll.

"Keep following it. It may take you to where you want to go" Ozpin ordered before ending the call.

"Alright guys, Ozpin says it may take us to where Ruby is, so let's go!" Blake pushed ahead of everyone, intent on finding Ruby.

Ruby could only feel pain. Black spots were beginning to appear as the cold floor sucked the heat from her. Ruby could only wish that her death was painless.

Suddenly, a loud noise, much closer this time, caught her attention. Straining her neck to see, Ruby saw an alpha beowolf, it's red eyes locked on her. Before it could move any closer, it suddenly exploded in a cloud of pink. Before Ruby passed out, she could barely make a familiar set of amber eyes.

"Ruby!" Blake rushed forward when she noticed the red themed girl on the floor.

"Yang, get that shelf off her, Ren, can you stabilize her?" Weiss asked, frantic.

"Yes, just give me a moment. Nora, tell Ozpin we found her" Ren ordered his best friend while he set to work on Ruby.

"Come on Rubbles, you can make it" Yang whispered, knelt down beside Blake. Ren began moving his aura into Ruby, hoping to jumpstart hers.

"Blake, check for a pulse, Yang, you have to try and warm her up, it's too cold for her on the floor. Weiss, give me some more light here please" Ren ordered as he moved more aura to Ruby. Doing what they were told, Weiss generated a small glyph, producing a moderate amount of light. With light now shining on her face, everyone could see the extent of her facial scars.

"Oh my dust, Ruby" Yang choked out, attempting to fight back the tears.

"Yang, stay with me, we can cry later, but right now, we have to save your sisters life" Ren snapped his fingers in her face, but quickly brought his hand back down to Ruby.

"Her heart rate is picking up. Slowly, but its picking up" Blake informed Ren. Pushing more aura into Ruby, Ren pulled his hands away.

"Alright, that should do it. You all stay here, I'm going to get the pilots and a stretcher" Ren stood up and ran back down the corridors to the entrance.

"You're coming home Ruby, you're finally coming home" Blake began to cry quietly.

"Hey, come here, she'll make it now. We have our fearless leader back" Yang soothed as she pulled Blake into a hug. Weiss moved in closer to inspect Ruby.

"Guys, I don't think Ruby will completely heal from this" Weiss almost whispered

"What do you mean?" Yang looked up, almost offended by the words themselves.

"Look at this, her face around her eye is horribly disfigured, and I wouldn't be surprised if she loses that eye. Plus with the amount of injuries she has to have, I don't think she'll ever move the same as well. Let's face it, she might be alive, but she won't be a huntress" Weiss could barely finish her sentence.

"She'll have to give up her life long dream. I think that alone would put her into a depression" Yang spoke quietly. Nora just rocked on her heels, unsure of what to do.

"Well, is there anything else she was passionate about?" Nora meekly asked.

"I think the only other thing that excited her even half as much as being a huntress was weapons. But I doubt she would even look at one for the rest of her life" Blake could barely contain herself, ready to burst with tears. Hearing herself say that, hearing the words come from her mouth, not someone else's, was too much for her.

"Right around this corner. Yang, Blake, help us get her onto the stretcher, Ozpin and Goodwitch are waiting for us" Ren helped clear Nora and Weiss while Blake and Yang gingerly lifted the barely alive girl onto the stretcher.

"Alright, let's clear out, the sooner we get her to a hospital, the sooner you can reunite" one of the pilots rushed the young adults out. After running down the corridors and retracing their steps, the group finally was out of the bunker.

"Get her in, Ren, you're coming with us. Goodwitch, make sure that they have clearance to be in the hospital with them" Ozpin motioned to the other three members of team JNPR. Nodding Glynda hurried the three into the other bullhead while the others made sure Ruby was secure.

"Alright, is the patient secure?" The pilot asked.

"Yes, now go!" Ozpin ordered. Taking their seats, they sat out the long ride in silence.

"Alright, miss Xiao Long, you are miss Rose's sister, correct?" A doctor asked, not looking up from his scroll.

"Yes I am, whats the news doc?" Yang asked, worried.

"Well, I'll be frank, we did all that we could. She'll live, but she has lost any chances of using her left eye, on top of the heavy burn scars. It would be nothing short of a medical miracle if it even healed in the slightest. She also took many injuries with depleted aura, and there really isn't any way we can fix them without causing her pain. Her right arm and leg were both broken multiple times, and at this point I would have to say it would be much better for her to have stumps instead of whats left" The doctor listed off, each injury making the three girls cringe.

"She also has multiple stab wounds, one almost through her heart. The fact that she is here right now instead of dead on the floor months ago is amazing. Look, I know this isn't news you wanted to hear, but it's what happened. If you need anything, please call one of us" The doctor turned and left, leaving them to ponder their options.

"I, I'm going to call dad and uncle Qrow. They at least deserve to know she's alive" Yang excused herself, leaving the room to call her family.

"Give me a moment Blake. I have some calls to make as well" Weiss left too, leaving Blake with her unconscious girlfriend.

"Ruby, I don't know if you can hear me, but, I'm sorry we couldn't find you sooner. I'm sorry that it was you and not me" Blake began to quietly cry.

"Hey Blake, where are the others?" It was Jaune, along with the rest of his team.

"Oh, hey guys. They're off making phone calls. Yang was calling her family, I don't know about Weiss though"

"Well, I know it's not much at all, but we brought you some stuff" Jaune started by showing Blake a box of tea. Ren offered some of his snacks that he made, while Nora gave her a blanket and Pyrrha held the other two.

"Thanks guys, it means a lot to me"

"Oh, hey guys, whats up?" Yang asked, walking into the room.

"Nothing, just bringing you guys some stuff" Nora explained.

"Hey, everyone, I have some good news!" Weiss came running into the room, slightly out of breath.

"What is it Weiss?" Yang asked, wondering just what Weiss had.

"I managed to pull some strings with father. As long as your father signs off on it, we can give Ruby a normal life again, to some degree" Weiss explained.

"What? How?" Yang asked, not believing what she was hearing.

"Now hear me out. The entire project is still a prototype, and she would be testing early, unfinished products, but we can give her prosthetics, replace her arm, her leg, maybe even her eye. It all depends on what we can accomplish" Weiss explained.

"Weiss, are you, are you serious?" Blake asked. Weiss only nodded.

"Oh thank you thank you thank you!" Yang crushed Weiss in one of her infamous bear hugs.

"I can't do it though if I'm dead." Weiss managed to choke out.

"Oops, sorry snowpea" Yang gently set Weiss down, allowing her to catch her breath.

"As I was saying. We still need your father to sign off on this, considering Ruby isn't even an adult yet. Plus with her being medically under, it's hard to ask her to sign anything anyways" Weiss joked.

"Well, I think it's a great idea, thanks Weiss" Blake hugged the heiress, albeit more gently than Yang.

 **I guess I need another chapter! Oh well, I hope you all enjoyed this, it's fun writing for you guys. Anyways, until next time, have a great day!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer, I do not own RWBY**

 **AN/ I'm back with hopefully the final chapter to this story. If you haven't already, I have started a new story in honor of Monty, so go and give that a look. I also want to apologize for last chapter, something happened to the formatting and I didn't know about it until it was up and people had already read and reviewed, so I'm sorry about that. Anyways, onto the chapter!**

A couple of days had gone by since Ruby was admitted to the hospital and Weiss had breathed hope into Ruby's life. Taiyang and Qrow had both hurried over as soon as they heard.

"You said you can get Ruby prosthetics?" Qrow asked.

"From the sounds of it yes. We could pay for the whole thing, Ironwood would oversee the entire thing and ensure that it goes smoothly." Weiss explained. Tai walked over and gave Weiss a hug comparable to one of Yang's.

"Thank you Weiss. I couldn't think of anyone better for Yang. Please, take care of them both for us." Tai released Weiss, wiping tears from his eyes before turning to Blake.

"Blake, please promise me that you will help Ruby through all of this." Blake nodded.

"I will, I promise." Blake said, turning back to Ruby. Ruby had gone back in for surgery to remove what was left of her right side, leaving stumps in place of her right arm and leg.

"Hey, she'll be fine once we get her prosthetics. She just needs to wake up and be cleared then we can go." Yang put her hand on Blake's shoulder in reassurance.

"Hnngh-" Ruby moaned, drawing everyones attention to the bed.

"Ruby, how are you feeling?" Qrow asked as Ruby's eyes slowly fluttered open.

"U-uncle Qrow?"

"Hey, easy there Rubles."

"Dad?"

"We're all here Ruby. Do you need anything?" Blake asked softly.

"Why don't I feel my arm?" Ruby asked. As her eyesight came back into focus, she could see everybody's face turn to one of discomfort.

"Guys, what wrong?" Ruby asked, becoming scared.

"Ruby are you able to move your head?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah why, whats-" Ruby turned to look at her arm, but was greeted with what was left.

"Wh-what happened?!" Ruby tried to get out of the bed, but was stopped by something else. Throwing the blanket off of her, Ruby was horrified to see she had lost her leg too.

"What happened to me?!" Ruby asked, beginning to cry.

"Ruby, what do you remember?" Qrow asked.

"I, I remember that we had reports of White Fang in the warehouse." Ruby said.

"Thats right, anything after that?" Yang asked. Ruby shook her head.

"You were presumed dead. We never found a body, so we kept searching for anything that was left. Recently, an android built to look like you had your weapon and attempted to murder us. Sadly it got team CRDL before it was finally destroyed by miss Goodwitch. Ruby, during this whole time, you were being tortured. We only found you a couple days ago, a little over a year." Weiss explained.

"Ruby, the damage they caused is why you don't have your arm or leg anymore. And also why this happened." Yang explained as she gave Ruby a hand mirror. Holding it up, Ruby could see part of the damage done to the left side of her face.

"Wh-why me? Why me?" Ruby looked around the room, hoping for a straight answer.

"Because, Ruby, you were my best and brightest. Cinder was scared of you, she wanted you out of the equation." Ozpin explained as he walked into the room.

"Ruby, before anything else, I have some news for you. I put in a few calls and pulled some strings. I'm paying for everything, but we can replace just about everything that you lost with bionics." Weiss explained to Ruby, who visibly brightened at the statement.

"Really Weiss? You would do that for me?" Ruby asked, tears beginning to form in her good eye.

"Actually, I already did. As soon as you get discharged, Winter is picking us all up and taking us to Mantle. Though these are prototypes, and there is no guarantee that they will be flawless. You will need to make regular visits, likely once or twice a year, but they can restore most of what you lost." Weiss explained. To the best of her ability, Ruby sat up and attempted to hug Weiss, but almost fell short if her partner hadn't caught her.

"Thank you Weiss, thank you so much!"

"Not a problem Ruby. Now come on, rest up so you can get out of here.

 _(10 Years later)_

"Ruby, come on! Neptune can wait another day, he isn't going back out into the field for another week!" Blake yelled from the kitchen.

"One second Blake! I can't stop right now otherwise it'll take another week!" Ruby yelled from her workshop. All around her were weapon parts and tools. Wiping the sweat off her face with a rag, Ruby went back to her latest project.

"Anything I can help with?" Blake asked, walking into the workshop.

"Yeah, pass me that tube of yellow dust and the heavy duty ammeter." Ruby ordered as she continued to wire the new weapon.

"What range?"

"Hundred thousands." Ruby explained as Blake retrieved the correct ammeter.

"Alright, pass me the dust please." Ruby asked, her robotic hand outstretched.

"Only if you tell me I'm the best wife ever." Blake joked, keeping the tube just out of Ruby's reach.

"Why do I have to say what we already know?" Ruby shot back.

"Because I love hearing you say it."

"Fine, you're the best wife ever Blake." Ruby said, taking the dust.

"Alright, now I just need to put this here, wire this to that, and done! Now the ammeter." Blake began placing sensors on the weapon, nodding to Ruby when they were all placed.

"Alright, watch yourself, this may spark." Ruby warned, pulling the trigger. A large surge of electricity flowed down the two rails, forcing the ball of tin to move with it. the shocking part wasn't that it moved, no, Blake and Ruby both jumped at the new hole in the wall.

"You're fixing that after dinner or else you don't get to sleep in bed tonight." Blake threatened.

"Y-yes ma'am." Ruby replied, scared of what her wife might do if she doesn't.

"Now come one, before dinner gets cold." Blake pulled the weapon from Ruby's hands and lead her towards the table. Looking back, Blake was happy that Weiss had started with the clunky prototypes. It allowed Ruby the chance to get used to the new feeling. Looking at Ruby's face as she dug into her pasta in a ravenous manner, Blake still found herself loving her even more, despite the replacement to half of her face.

"What?" Ruby asked with her fork suspended in her hand.

"Oh nothing, just admiring the view." Ruby blushed hard. Looking back, despite all of the hardships they faced, Blake would never trade it for anything else.

 **AN/ And done! To those wondering what Ruby looks like now, think along the lines of the futureAU Ruby with that metal plate on her face. Thank you all for staying with me through this, though it's time that it ended. Please stay with me for more stories down the line. Until next time, have a great day!**


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